An Indian-origin Sikh police officer, Sandeep Singh Dhaliwal, was killed in the US and he is the first turbaned Sikh cop in Texas. Deputy Sheriff Sandeep Singh Dhaliwal was shot and killed in an “ambush-style” attack on Friday near Houston, Texas.

Sandeep Singh stopped a vehicle with a man and woman inside and the man got out and shot him in an “ambush-style”. He shot the officer twice in a ruthless and cold-blooded way. Later, the shooter was seen running to a shopping center nearby, “Deeply grieved to learn of the shooting of Deputy Sheriff Sandeep Singh Dhaliwal, a Sikh Indian-American officer in Houston. We have just visited that city. My condolences to his family,” the External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said in a tweet.

The late Deputy Sheriff Sandeep Singh Dhaliwal, who was 42 years old, was on national headlines in the US and India when he was allowed to grow a beard and wear a turban on the job. He was a 10-year veteran of the Harris County Sheriff’s office and its first Sikh deputy.

Other officials said that he was conducting a traffic stop in the northwest of Houston on mid-day duty when he was shot down. On this, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh also expressed shock and tweetd, “Deeply anguished to learn of the ruthless killing of Deputy Sheriff of Harris County, Sandeep Singh Dhaliwal”. He said Sandeep Singh Dhaliwal represented the Sikh community with pride and was the first turbaned police officer of America. “My condolences to his family. RIP.”

After being shot, Sandeep Singh Dhaliwal was taken to a hospital by helicopter and he was declared dead. He made a historic move by pushing religious rights in the department, just a decade ago. “I’m sad to share with you that we’ve lost one of our own. Our HCSO Texas was unable to recover from his injuries. There are no words to convey our sadness,” Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said in a tweet.